Wisdom Is Vindicated by Her Deeds

6 Pentecost, A p 9, July 9, 2023

Zechariah 9:9-12 Psalm 145:8-15
Romans 7:15-25a Matt. 11:25-30

Lectionary Link

One might define wisdom as applied knowledge within the changing times of our lives.  Wisdom is the ability to act appropriate to the situation.

Wisdom in time means that there are endless strategies, and while endless strategies might signify a tolerance of inconsistency, wisdom is in fact, having the ability to negotiate in a world of differences in our lives.

The Matthean community responsible for the generating of the Gospel which came to have the name of Matthew, may well have been comprised of former members of the community of John the Baptist, but also of former tax collectors and other non-practicing Jews, as well as Gentiles who were received by Paul,Peter and others into the fellowship of Christ.

People from diverse backgrounds, probably brought with them their own baggage of piety and lifestyle practices.  Such differences can be the fodder for community discord, and the writer of Matthew, a wisdom leader in the community was writing some wise words on community living.

John the Baptist had been an ascetic.  His lifestyle was an important witness to accompany his rather demanding lesson on repentance.  John would not require of anyone an austerity which he himself would not embrace.  And so for some, John would have been a model for leadership, and his lifestyle was an important part of his leadership.  Having nothing and wanting nothing left him being an unbribed and unbribable soul.  There, perhaps, were members of the early Christ communities who thought that ascetic austerity should be the requirement for leaders and members.  One can certainly find hints of a rather spartan and itinerant lifestyle in the writings of St. Paul.

On the other hand, the community of the Gospel of Matthew were people who were living around 45 years after Jesus, and there was no end of the world, which meant they had to come to grips with getting more settled into community life with a duration within the cities of the Roman Empire.  A settled lifestyle with marriage, family, and children, households and work would mean the followers of Jesus had to adapt themselves to a variety of life situations which would require a variety of lifestyle options.

The writer of Matthew contrasted John the Baptist and Jesus as a wisdom comparison for the community.  John the Baptist neither ate or drank the common urban diet, and people criticized him as being demon possessed.  Jesus ate and drank with publicans and sinners, and people said that he was a glutton and a drunkard.  But don't get caught up in stereotyping lifestyle behaviors of these two people, John and Jesus.  Wisdom is the ability to know that there are different lifestyle strategies for living winsomely the good news of God for the people whom we are meant to meet in our lives.   So, be wise and discerning and don't get hung up on petty differences of lifestyle as it pertains to strategies of living the good news of our lives.

St. Paul was a proponent of learning to be all things to all people, so as to be winsomely present to them with the good news that he had for them.  To be all things to all people requires wisdom, with a sensitive receptivity to the common ground places of where to meet people.

To attain this wisdom, Paul's own spiritual transformation involved achieving impulse control.  Paul writes about an inner struggle to attain the good use of the energies of his life, and get himself free from the many forms of self-gratification.  Becoming free from self-gratification allows the freedom of how to be involved in the gratification of others in showing them the release of the experience of joy within their lives.

In the spiritual method of the early Christ community, this experience was known as finding an interior rest for the soul, because one could realize that one was not "pulling" alone in life; rather one was yoked with a the Risen Christ as a higher power to achieve a mobility toward excellence in one's life.

The Gospel for us is that wisdom has many strategies and lifestyle options because Wisdom involves the application of knowledge to the many and different life situation with many and different people to achieve the kind of justice and love which allows people to know the interior rest of the peace of Christ.   Amen.

Sunday School, July 9, 2023 6 Pentecost, A proper 9

 Sunday School, July 9, 2023   6 Pentecost, A proper 9

Theme:

Discovering that we have help

What do trains and trucks do?  They carry heavy loads.  Before trains and trucks were invented how did we carry heavy loads?  Heavy loads were place on wagons and carts and they were pulled by animals, like horses, donkeys and oxen.  A really heavy load needed to be pulled by more than one animal.  A yoke was used to keep two animals pulling together.

Jesus used the yoke to talk about getting help in life.  Life can be like a heavy load.  Life can be difficult.  Life can be hard.  Life can be like pulling a very heavy load.  What did Jesus say about life being a heavy load to pull?

He said, “Take my yoke.”  If we can know that someone else is helping us through the difficult and hard times of life then the burden can be easier to bear.

How can we know that we are pulling the hard things of life with Christ?  We can know the strength of God within us as the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit.  Also friends and the church can be in the yoke of our lives.  Other people can help us in difficult times so that we never have to feel alone.

Jesus agreed that life can be difficult.  Sometimes we can only grow through difficult challenges.  Jesus lets us know that the difficulties in life need not destroys, if we discover how we are helped by God and by others.

Jesus said, “Take my yoke.”  This means we have to learn to accept help in our lives.  It also means that if we are with Christ, in the yoke, it means we are help others to pull the difficult loads of their life.

The yoke is a symbol of how we can be kept together helping each other during the difficult things that we have to face in our lives.

Sermon

Does anyone know what a yoke is?

  The yellow part of an egg right?   Egg yolk is spelled different.   What about another yoke?

  If two horses are pulling a wagon, how do the horses stay even?  They wear a harness.  A harness is like a yoke.

  In the time of Jesus, when two oxen pulled a cart, they wore a large wooden yoke around their necks.  This yoke was attached to the cart and it allowed two oxen to pull the cart without one getting ahead of the other.

  So, Jesus told his friends, take my yoke upon you and learn from me.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

  Sometimes life is hard.  And since life is sometimes hard, we don’t want to be alone.  We want to know that someone else is helping us.

  Jesus didn’t promise us an easy life with no work.  That would make us lazy.   What Jesus promised us is help.

  Jesus promised us the yoke of a community.  In a community, we live helping each other.  Your family is a community.  You live together to help each other, so you don’t have to do all the hard things alone.

  Jesus also promised that we have the life of God’s Spirit within us, helping us too.

  Remember the yoke and the harness.  A yoke is used to help two animals pull together to do the hard job of moving a heavy wagon.

  Remember that we are not alone in the many jobs that we have to do in our lives.  We have family and friends to help us.  And remember we are helping our family and friends too.  And life is easier when we do things together.

   And life is easier when we discover that the life of God is within us helping us to more than we ever thought that we could do.

  Let us be thankful today that we are helping each other today in all of the work that we are given to do in our lives.

   If we just had an easy life, we would not grow and get strong.  In our lives we always have something more difficult to do to help us to grow.  And let us always remember that we have the help of Jesus and the help of each other in all of the difficult things in our lives.

  Jesus said that we should take his yoke upon us.  And he said this as a riddle to let us know that we can find help in life, both within us and from each other.   Amen.

Intergeneration Family Service with Holy Eucharist

July 9, 2023: The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah , He’s Got the Whole World,  Eat This Bread,  May the Lord

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Hallelu, Hallelujah,  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 84)

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.  But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.  

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 145

The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, * slow to anger and of great kindness.

The LORD is loving to everyone * and his compassion is over all his works.

All your works praise you, O LORD, * and your faithful servants bless you.

They make known the glory of your kingdom * and speak of your power;

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said to the crowd, "To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, `We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."  At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Liturgist:         The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:            And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song: He’s Got the Whole World (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)

1          He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.  He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.

2          Little tiny babies. 

3          Brother and the sisters  

4          Mothers and the fathers

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All  may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Eat This Bread (Renew!  # 228)

Eat this bread, drink this wine, come to me and never be hungry. 

Eat this bread, drink this wine, come to me and you shall not thirst.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: May the Lord (Sung to the tune of Eidelweiss)

May the Lord, Mighty God, Bless and keep you forever, Grant you peace, perfect peace, Courage in every endeavor.  Lift up your eyes and seek His face, Trust His grace forever.  May the Lord, Mighty God Bless and keep you for ever.

Dismissal:   

Liturgist:    Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People:      Thanks be to God! 

Caught in St. Paul's Twilight Zone? Try Being Yoked with Christ

5 Pentecost, A  p 9, July 5, 2020
Zechariah 9:9-12 Psalm 145:8-15
Romans 7:15-25a Matt. 11:25-30

Lectionary Link

Video.  Sermon at 11:53

As Episcopalians we morphed from having been the Church of England in the American Colonies.  So the American Revolution was probably hardest upon the members of the Church of England in the Colonies.  Why?  The Church of England was the Established Church of the British Empire and the King was the Head of the Church.  It was an important feature of the Book of Common Prayer to pray for the King.  When our framers wanted the separation of State and Religion, they were purposefully trying to escape the English practice of established religion.  The revolt in the Colonies was hardest on the clergy; many clergy were Tory clergy and the last to make peace with our independence.

So, Happy Independence Day, Episcopal Church.  Do we mourn the loss of being the favored and established church of our country?  Or do we celebrate the fact that our country was an experiment in government that arrived at some important Gospel and Christly values?

Most Episcopalians are strongly in favor with the separation of church and state, precisely because we know our past.  And we get concerned when many Americans want the government to be specifically a certain kind of Christian rather than be non-aligned with any religious community.

How can we be Christian and Americans at the same time who respect the diversity of beliefs or non-belief of our citizens?

Perhaps, we are familiar with the quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:  Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary use words.

Many people decry the age of the Enlightenment when Reason and Science replaced God and theology.  I would like to suggest that the Enlightenment was one of the results of the success of the Gospel being preached but not with words, rather in resulting social functions of society.

Love God and your neighbor as yourself.  That is Gospel and Torah.  What embodies that more than the declaration that all are created equal and are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Who was formerly responsible for providing health, education and welfare?  Such were the main diaconal functions of the church.  But what if the church converts entire governments to the role of being concerned about the health, education and welfare for all of the members of society?  Is that the defeat of Gospel values or the triumph?

Some Christians today are disappointed by secular health, education and welfare because it does not have specific Christian sub-titles stamped all over it in with conscious Christian evangelism.  In health, education and welfare, churches can only do band aid efforts in face of such great public needs.  We should be thankful that the governments have been converted to be responsible for the general health, education and welfare to the reach all of our citizenry.  And when we complain that it is not ever done perfectly, what do we want?  Do we want our government to cease to make the efforts on our behalf?

Should we not be thankful that the government adopted a biblical like tithing system of taxes so that the public common good can be taken care of?  With our payment of taxes we are doing the Gospel without words.

How many of us truly appreciate the collateral effects of preaching the Gospel without words which our government actually does for us because of our American values.  Dear ones, let's be thankful and let us not complain, except when we as a collective people are not living up to those "hidden Gospel" values within our American ideals which pertain to the active love of justice and dignity for every human being.

The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Torah are examples of the highly recommended behaviors for good human relationships.  They are such expressions of ideals that they can be experienced as the down side of idealized laws; they continuously remind us of our failures and our need to be better angels to truly fulfill them.

We've read from St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, the section which I call the "Twilight Zone."  Why?  Do,do,do,do, Do,do,do, do, Do,do,do, do, Do,do,do, do.  In the portion we've read,  the word "do" is used sixteen times.  If you were Paul's writing teacher, you would encourage more stylistic variation, but you can understand Paul's obsession with an action verb.  The law stands over his head reminding him that he is not perfect, so how can he tolerate himself as his limps on his way to become better each day?  The intervention of the Risen Christ who becomes his "stand in" perfection while, he walks the path toward perfection.

We, as Americans, over and over again are faced with the utopian ideals of our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.  We have legislative bodies to try to provide us laws which approximate these utopian ideals.  We are faced with the obvious fact that people of wealth and power have the ability to finesse our legal system while people who are poor and deprived of full social equality end up being on the harsh punishment side of our legal system.

We want to do liberty and justice for all.  We want to do life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in an equal way for all of our citizens, but alas, we are ever poignantly reminded of our failure.  O, wretched failure that we often are.  Who will deliver us from the consequences of unequal practice of our great American Ideals?  We need the higher power of God and Christ and the Holy Spirit to help us become our better angels toward the ideals of our country.

Although we are not specifically a Christian country, we can say that the values taught by Jesus Christ became expressed in the Declaration of Independence and in our Constitution in expressing a freedom to love God, if we choose, but the requirement that we love our love our neighbor as ourselves, in the most general and complete expression of love, is the practice of justice.

When Jesus came he found a very fickle public.  They criticized John the Baptist who was ascetic and spartan in his habits and his general rebuke of everyone; they criticized Jesus as a glutton and drunkard for eating with publican and sinners.  And what did Jesus say?  He was revealed to the vulnerable.  Who is the most vulnerable?  An infant.  He was saying, if you want to act in the wisdom of God, tend to the vulnerable.  The wonderful "I will give you rest," expression of Jesus reminds me of the ideal stated in the Lazarus poem at the Statue of Liberty, "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free....I lift my lamp beside the golden door."  America is the ideal of welcome.  Lady Liberty with the torch says, "We'll leave the light on for you, so you can find your way to welcome."  "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me and you will find rest for your souls."

Today, both the vulnerable and the powerful and the wealthy need the serious help of Christ.  We will not live up to the high ideals of God's law or even our country's ideal, if we try to go it selfishly alone or divide ourselves into tribal groups to perpetuate opposition in our country.  If we want to make progress toward our ideals, we need to be yoked with Christ.  Being yoked with Christ means that we are not absolved from our own agency and effort.  It means when we desire to go in the right direction, we can be sure of the power of Christ, the assistance of a higher power of the arc of justice toward the ideals of God as they are expressed in loving our neighbor as our self.

On this day after our American birthday party, we say, Happy Birthday America and we love you.  We love your high ideals, even if they consistently remind us of our failures.

But as Christians and Americans, let us come to Jesus as the weary ones today, seeking rest for our souls.  Let us take on the yoke of Christ to help us today as we alway live and act toward loving our neighbors as ourselves.  Amen

Sunday School, July 5, 2020 5 Pentecost, A proper 9

Sunday School, July 5, 2020   5 Pentecost, A proper 9

Theme:

Discovering that we have help

What do trains and trucks do?  They carry heavy loads.  Before trains and trucks were invented how did we carry heavy loads?  Heavy loads were place on wagons and carts and they were pulled by animals, like horses, donkeys and oxen.  A really heavy load needed to be pulled by more than one animal.  A yoke was used to keep two animals pulling together.

Jesus used the yoke to talk about getting help in life.  Life can be like a heavy load.  Life can be difficult.  Life can be hard.  Life can be like pulling a very heavy load.  What did Jesus say about life being a heavy load to pull?

He said, “Take my yoke.”  If we can know that someone else is helping us through the difficult and hard times of life then the burden can be easier to bear.

How can we know that we are pulling the hard things of life with Christ?  We can know the strength of God within us as the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit.  Also friends and the church can be in the yoke of our lives.  Other people can help us in difficult times so that we never have to feel alone.

Jesus agreed that life can be difficult.  Sometimes we can only grow through difficult challenges.  Jesus lets us know that the difficulties in life need not destroys, if we discover how we are helped by God and by others.

Jesus said, “Take my yoke.”  This means we have to learn to accept help in our lives.  It also means that if we are with Christ, in the yoke, it means we are help others to pull the difficult loads of their life.

The yoke is a symbol of how we can be kept together helping each other during the difficult things that we have to face in our lives.

Sermon

Does anyone know what a yoke is?

  The yellow part of an egg right?   Egg yolk is spelled different.   What about another yoke?

  If two horses are pulling a wagon, how do the horses stay even?  They wear a harness.  A harness is like a yoke.

  In the time of Jesus, when two oxen pulled a cart, they wore a large wooden yoke around their necks.  This yoke was attached to the cart and it allowed two oxen to pull the cart without one getting ahead of the other.

  So, Jesus told his friends, take my yoke upon you and learn from me.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

  Sometimes life is hard.  And since life is sometimes hard, we don’t want to be alone.  We want to know that someone else is helping us.

  Jesus didn’t promise us an easy life with no work.  That would make us lazy.   What Jesus promised us is help.

  Jesus promised us the yoke of a community.  In a community, we live helping each other.  Your family is a community.  You live together to help each other, so you don’t have to do all the hard things alone.

  Jesus also promised that we have the life of God’s Spirit within us, helping us too.

  Remember the yoke and the harness.  A yoke is used to help two animals pull together to do the hard job of moving a heavy wagon.

  Remember that we are not alone in the many jobs that we have to do in our lives.  We have family and friends to help us.  And remember we are helping our family and friends too.  And life is easier when we do things together.

   And life is easier when we discover that the life of God is within us helping us to more than we ever thought that we could do.

  Let us be thankful today that we are helping each other today in all of the work that we are given to do in our lives.

   If we just had an easy life, we would not grow and get strong.  In our lives we always have something more difficult to do to help us to grow.  And let us always remember that we have the help of Jesus and the help of each other in all of the difficult things in our lives.

  Jesus said that we should take his yoke upon us.  And he said this as a riddle to let us know that we can find help in life, both within us and from each other.   Amen.

Intergeneration Family Service with Holy Eucharist

July 5, 2020: The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah , He’s Got the Whole World,  Eat This Bread,  May the Lord

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People: And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Hallelu, Hallelujah,  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 84)

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah. 

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Alleluia (chanted)

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.  But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.  

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 145

The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, * slow to anger and of great kindness.

The LORD is loving to everyone * and his compassion is over all his works.

All your works praise you, O LORD, * and your faithful servants bless you.

They make known the glory of your kingdom * and speak of your power;

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said to the crowd, "To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, `We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, `He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."  At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Liturgist:         The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:            And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song: He’s Got the Whole World (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)

1          He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands.  He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.

2          Little tiny babies. 

3          Brother and the sisters  

4          Mothers and the fathers

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All  may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia.  Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Eat This Bread (Renew!  # 228)

Eat this bread, drink this wine, come to me and never be hungry. 

Eat this bread, drink this wine, come to me and you shall not thirst.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: May the Lord (Sung to the tune of Eidelweiss)

May the Lord, Mighty God, Bless and keep you forever, Grant you peace, perfect peace, Courage in every endeavor.  Lift up your eyes and seek His face, Trust His grace forever.  May the Lord, Mighty God Bless and keep you for ever.

Dismissal:   

Liturgist:    Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People:      Thanks be to God!